AllFreeNovel
Share Us
They talked like they were strangers meeting for the first time. No history, no backstory, no searing heat boiling over between them, no shared secrets, and promises that would never come true.
He motioned to the check. “I hope that helps make it a little easier for you and your family.”
She mashed her lips together, uncertain of her voice, her eyes stinging with unshed tears.
“Have a good life, Mandy.” He pushed the glasses over his eyes, turned, and left the trailer.
She stood, unable to move, the small space closing in on her. So many emotions swirled around in her head. When she finally returned to the fairgrounds, Mamba was nowhere in sight, and she wondered if she’d imagined the encounter.
But no, the intense pain in her chest told her it was real.
* * *
Mamba beat it out of the trailer and headed toward the street, away from the carnival grounds. He couldn’t bear taking the chance of seeing Mandy again for fear it would break him.
Earlier, he’d had a whole speech worked out in his head. He’d tell her he understood her fears about getting with him, but he also wanted her to know all the good the Serpents did, like this charity. How they only used violence when necessary and never on anyone weaker, but all those words flew out of his head the minute he laid eyes on her.
With her full lips and innocent face, how her hair fell over her shoulders in waves, and her chest heaved in her t-shirt, Mandy looked so damn sexy without even trying.
The words caught in his throat, but mainly because he didn’t understand her reasons in his heart, and he doubted he ever would. How fucked up they didn’t end up together after they’d been through so much.
Sometimes life just kept kicking him in the balls.
EPILOGUE
“Another good night.” Rattler clapped Mamba on the shoulder as they entered the Gold Mine. “You were fierce in that cage tonight. Fuck, I like to throw my fists, but you were relentless. Time to celebrate.”
Mamba accepted the compliment with a nod because Rattler could never comprehend how fighting gave him purpose and made him feel alive—how he feared he’d surely lose if he didn’t fight. Yeah, he trained until he was in top shape and watched his drinking and smoking, but it was more than that—fighting and the high afterward gave him a few blessed hours when he didn’t have a nagging gut.
The place was hopping, music pounding, club girls serving drinks at the tables, and everyone was ready to enjoy his win. They slid into their usual seats at the bar, and the prospect immediately set up shots of Jack. Cobra flanked him on the other side. “Here’s to another win.” They shot the whiskey, then Cobra’s face sobered. “No bullshit, I’m proud of you. Not just for being the big winner, but for getting your head straight and staying the fuck outta trouble.”
Mamba nodded again because the right words wouldn’t come. Truth, he’d been committed to getting his life in order and making changes, but it stung deep that the woman who made him see a better side of himself wasn’t with him—and would never be with him.
Python slapped him on the back. “Unbelievable how you move in that cage. Like a fuckin’ cat.”
“That sucker didn’t have a chance,” Boa added. “He was thinking about tapping out five minutes after the cage door slammed.”
“Shit, I had to protect him from all the women. Crazy shit, he could barely get out of the locker room before they were all over him—wanting him to sign their tits, shoving their panties in his pocket.”
“Maybe I should tell Serafina how much you enjoyed that too.”
Rattler laughed at Mamba’s threat. “Ahh, fuck no.”
Joker tapped his shot glass, and the prospect refilled it. “And all that talent hasn’t gone unnoticed. Samson approached me tonight. He wants to make our alliance permanent, as in cutting us a percentage of every fight that goes off at Valley View in exchange for our protection.”
That silenced their trash talk. After Ajax and the rest of the Marauders fled Vegas, Samson and his people from New York took over the fights at the Valley View warehouse. They made the operation bigger, bringing in popular fighters, huge crowds, and even bigger money, which they doled out to Metro to ensure a smooth process.
“I was gonna bring it to the table at church, but figured you’d wanna hear the good news.” Joker shot the whiskey and waited for Cobra’s reaction.
Cobra had held back on joining Samson’s operation in Searchlight to see how it all panned out. When he turned a profit, Samson expanded his operation to Vegas. Seeing it was a sure thing, Cobra and the rest of the Serpents wanted in, and this could be their golden opportunity.
“Interesting.” Cobra traced his finger around the rim of his glass. “We’ll dig deeper into this tomorrow night.”
Typical Cobra, never tipping his hand, but this was huge. Over the last few months, Samson proved himself to be a stand-up guy, and the people he brought in from New York seemed solid too. They ran their shit a little differently than the Serpents, but Mamba sensed a camaraderie that equaled the MC.
“Now I think it’s time for the big winner to celebrate his victory in style.” Rattler’s shitty grin could only mean one thing. Over the last few months, the Serpents made it their mission to push him with every stripper, club girl, and hanger-on within a twenty-mile radius.
Last month, he and Rattler had to ride out to one of the weed houses in the desert. On their way back, they stopped for a beer, and when Mamba returned from the shitter, Rattler was talking him up to the waitress. Then when Mamba didn’t act interested the waitress got pissed and chucked his beer at him. Proof that Rattler shouldn’t be in the matchmaking business.
